Medical Design, inventing care solutions for tomorrow

Cité du design, Saint-Etienne within the framework of the XXVth Entretiens Jacques Cartier

Design gives a new look on medical techniques and holds an outstanding potential of innovation. At the interaction of human being and object, design creates products and services adapted to the person, and contributes to improve the comfort of the patient’s environment. Design obviously cannot have therapeutic effects as it is generally understood, but it is a mean to make the disease less alarming ; it enables to consider new modes of care, prevention and support for the patients and their family, in particular at home. This symposium proposes to develop the issue of medical design as an innovation driver to:

• Collaborate with research, innovating in the field of medical technologies (artificial organs, implants or biomaterials, etc.);
• work on the comfort and improvement of treatments for the patients, or imagine new diagnosis and intervention devices for doctors and medical staff;
• reconsider the notion of care and invent the context of evolution for the forthcoming medical practices.

For more information about the conference, including full details of speakers, programme and registration form click here

Website: www.citedudesign.com
Name: Camille Vilain
Tel: +33 (0)4 77 47 88 58
Email:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On 24 May 2012, the new Helsinki Music Centre hosted the Cities for All Helsinki Conference, the annual conference of EIDD – Design for All Europe, which this year took place within the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 programme, and attracted participants from all over Europe. 

The one day conference spotlighted the design challenges and opportunities raised by the issue of Active Ageing. Professionals from different fields shared their ideas around how human diversity and dignity can inform design processes that improve our common well-being and welfare, by creating and maintaining better Cities for All.

The agenda offered insight into the thinking and processes that drive Design for All: unprecedented inspiration, visionary knowledge and interdisciplinary innovation in the areas of urban and social systems and cohesion, physical and cognitive accessibility, human diversity and understanding.

The programme had two key themes: Shared Spaces – Shared Solutions and Shared Services – Shared Experiences. The first looked into inclusive strategies in the built environment and society; Marco Steinberg, strategic design director with the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, looked at how the Helsinki Design Lab is introducing design thinking in interdisciplinary governmental decision-making.  

The afternoon programme explored Shared Services – Shared Experiences, kicking off with a focus on service design, social inclusion and inclusive business cases from keynote speaker Rama Gheerawo, of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art.

The International Council of Communication Design Icograda President Leimei Julia Chiu offered the world council’s opinion about communication and information design – what is accessible communication in a city environment? How can we achieve better graphic design for our everyday life?  

Business cases included Pekka Korhonen, head of KONE Corporation’s People Flow strategy, speaking about Better people flow in cities, Onny Eikhaug from the Norwegian Design Council discussing Inclusive design as a business driver, and the Scandic Hotel group’s Accessibility Ambassador Magnus Berglund, who shared the Hotel Scandic Accessibility Programme.

The day was rounded off by a panel discussion led by conference moderator Pete Kercher, EIDD Ambassador, with the presidents of three international design organisations: Deborah Dawton from BEDA, Leimei Julia Chiu from Icograda and Finn Petrén from EIDD amongst others.

The international Cities for All exhibition running alongside the conference illustrated how Design for All has created added value in practice. The exhibition will tour Finland and then other host countries in Europe.

For more information about the conference, including full details of speakers and the programme visit: www.ornamo.fi/citiesforallhelsinki